Arab community groups and anti-war activists in San Francisco plan to join other cities protesting around the world against Israeli military action in Gaza on Sunday.

San Francisco groups, Arab Resource and Organizational Center as well as Arab Youth organization, have planned a two-hour demonstration at 3 p.m. Sunday at the ferry building on The Embarcadero, located near the east end of Market Street.

Protesters will hold a symbolic funeral procession starting at the San Francisco Ferry Building in response to military actions by Israel in the Gaza area of Palestine.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday called for “an immediate end to the indiscriminate firing of rockets by Hamas into Israel and Israeli retaliatory action.”

The secretary-general urged Israel “to do far more to stop civilian casualties.”

The Jewish Community Relations Council, which represents synagogues and Jewish organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area, released a statement on July 9 stating that it supports “Israel’s right as a sovereign country to defend itself from relentless rocket fire, as well as its efforts to prevent further escalation and minimize casualties on both sides.”

A previous demonstration in San Francisco was held on July 12, organized by various groups standing in solidarity with Palestinians.

Margot Goldstein, a member of the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network spoke to a crowd in downtown San Francisco at last weekend’s demonstration and called for “civil society everywhere to hold Israel accountable for its recurrent crimes.”

Hannah Albarazi, Bay City News

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